Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $1.09 Billion Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,537,478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 440,356 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.77% of Progressive worth $1,087,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $272.91 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $247.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $186.94 and a 52-week high of $275.52.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.12.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.